How can CISS help my agency?
CISS can aid your effort to assist homeless and low-income individuals. CISS functions as a client intake system that can eliminate most paper records maintained on clients, allowing you to spend more time on direct service. Once a client’s information has been entered into CISS, other partner service providers can view that client’s information, unless your agency has special confidentiality needs (vulnerable populations; HIPAA agencies). This allows for more efficient coordination of services. In most cases, there is no need to duplicate intake work because the information is already available.
CISS can also create reports on your agency’s use of resources, as well as specialized reports required by many funding agencies including HUD’s Annual Reports and State reports. With a few keystrokes you can create a report that might otherwise have taken days or weeks to write.
The more agencies contributing client data to CISS, the better the picture of actual homelessness will be. It can be presented in a clear, factual and statistical way. CISS can identify unmet needs in the area of homeless services. When this factual picture of homelessness emerges, it can be used to positively influence public policy, with the ultimate goal of ending homelessness in our community and across the country.
Who leads CISS?
Community Council coordinates and administers the CISS program for the St. Charles, Lincoln & Warren County Continuum of Care. This includes a responsibility to monitor compliance as directed by federal regulations.
As the CISS Program Administrator, Community Council facilitates agency participation, provides technical assistance, assists agencies in meeting reporting requirements and monitors confidentiality, data quality, and reporting compliance. Each participating agency designates a CISS Agency Compliance Monitor. This person monitors agency security, confidentiality, data input, and staff access to system.
How do I enroll?
An agency must have authorization from Community Council in order to participate in CISS. Interested agencies should contact Dottie Kastigar.
What if a client does not want to participate in CISS?
A client may choose not to participate in CISS. A client is not disqualified from receiving assistance merely because he or she chooses not to participate.
If a client revokes his or her consent after information has already been entered into CISS, all identifying information will be removed. Non-identifying information collected up to the point of revocation remains a part of CISS for reporting purposes.
Who will have access to my agency’s data?
Clients may view and receive a copy of their own information at any time, but they may not see other clients’ data.
CISS users at partner agencies have access to the data. Client data is shared in two different ways. Some agencies may be designated as “protected” agencies if they have special confidentiality needs. In such cases, only the agency entering the data will have access to it. “Non-protected” agencies - those that have normal confidentiality needs - enter client data that can be seen and shared by agencies enrolled in the local CISS.
My agency receives HUD funding - are we required to participate in CISS?
Yes. HUD has made participation in a homelessness management information system a condition of receiving McKinney-Vento funding. McKinney-Vento funds include Shelter Plus Care, Supportive Housing, and the Emergency Solutions Grant Program. Agencies receiving funding for certain Veteran’s Programs and Federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs are also required to participate. Additionally, agencies using funds provided by MHTF (Missouri Housing Trust Fund) are required to participate in the community CISS.
Domestic Violence Shelters are the exception. Due to the unique circumstances of their clients, they are not allowed to participate. Other funders may mandate CISS participation in the future.
